by: ashley joannou
red deer regional hospital centre is diverting covid-19 patients needing a higher level of care to calgary because of capacity issues and one er doctor is warning that the province is on the “precipice” of not having any available icu beds.
in a statement to postmedia saturday, ahs spokesperson gregory harris said the red deer icu, which contains all the icu beds in central alberta, is operating at more than 100 per cent capacity. the 26 beds, more than double what the hospital had before the pandemic, include 20-patients with the virus.
“red deer regional hospital centre is currently facing capacity issues and is temporarily diverting covid-19 patients needing a higher level of care to calgary zone,” he said.
dr. tim gash, an er doctor in red deer for the last seven years, said he and his colleagues are frightened with where the pandemic is headed.
“most of us are scared. people in my job, whether you’re talking emergency medicine or intensive care, are accustomed to talking with patients and families about death and risk of death, or other bad outcomes,” he said.
“but to be approaching a situation where you may not even have intensive care availability for a potentially survivable illness, and to contemplate having that discussion with patients and families, is incredibly morally distressing — to contemplate telling someone they could potentially survive this illness, but you don’t have the resources to provide it for them because we’re overwhelmed.”